Zhao Liben and Zhao Xian were waiting for him and his son, and had not eaten yet.

The maidservant then brought in the exquisite Huaiyang cuisine, and the four generations of grandparents and grandchildren ate and chatted in the flower hall.

Zhao Shouzheng was extremely hungry. He took a bowl of crab stewed lion's head and ate it with big mouthfuls while complaining, "Zhao Xian, you are so unreliable. You didn't go back to report after you found grandpa. Your father and I have been worried about you."

Zhao Xian hurriedly explained in a low voice: "Grandpa didn't allow me to say that."

Zhao Shouzheng swallowed the meat in his mouth with all his strength, and then said to Zhao Liben in a muffled voice: "Dad, you have kept it a secret from us, and we have suffered so much. Your life is more comfortable now than in Nanjing, but you have made us suffer for half a year."

"Without those six months of hardship, would you be where you are now?" Zhao Liben took a sip of wine, narrowed his eyes and sneered:

"I had made up my mind to leave you alone for three years. If you hadn't been able to perform well, you wouldn't even be able to see me now."

As he said this, he smiled at Zhao Hao with a pleasant expression, "My dear grandson, I know everything you did. You did a great job. Especially dealing with the Qian and Liu families. You really helped me vent my anger."

Although he was very proud, he never got carried away and did not mention anything about the incident involving Zhou Jijiu.

But how could Zhao Hao not guess the origin of the letter at this time?

But he also didn't mention this matter, he just smiled and tried to make the old man happy.

"Dad, didn't our family become poor? How come we look richer than before?" Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help asking after three rounds of drinks with the old man.

"Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. I have been an official for decades. How could I not know the dangers of the officialdom? How could I not prepare for the rainy day?" Zhao Liben boasted to his children and grandchildren, "Now I am not afraid to tell you that Wu Ji has our Zhao family's shares..."

"Ah, really?" Zhao Shouzheng had heard of Wuji for a long time. He knew that it was a large business that included official salt transportation, money houses and pawnshops, and canal transportation. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Doesn't this mean that we can also live the same life as salt merchants?"

"Look at you, you are such a loser!" Zhao Liben rolled his eyes at him and said angrily, "I really don't know how you passed the imperial examination?"

"Of course it's the spirit of our ancestors." Zhao Shouzheng was not stupid. Even to his own father, he only vaguely said, "Grandfather Taizu told me in a dream that our Zhao family will have another Jinshi, and it will be my son."

"Emperor Taizu was also blind sometimes," Zhao Liben scolded with a smile, "then you should honestly take the imperial examination and be an official, instead of always thinking about building a garden and raising skinny horses."

"Ahem, I just said to build a garden, but I didn't say to raise skinny horses." Zhao Shouzheng's old face turned red from coughing when he heard it.

"Don't I know your character?" Zhao Liben laughed loudly, obviously very happy.

"Father, there are two children here." Zhao Shouzheng protested.

"Zhao Xian will get married after the New Year, and Zhao Hao is not young anymore..." Zhao Liben said, and asked casually: "By the way, the Liu family is not bothering us anymore, right?"

"How can Liu Zhengqi still have the face?" Zhao Shouzheng shook his head and laughed: "He is too embarrassed to stay in Jinling. I heard that he has returned to Suzhou."

"That's good." Zhao Liben nodded, and smiled happily at Zhao Hao, "Don't be sad, dear grandson. As the saying goes, the old must go before the new can come. Grandpa will find you a better one."

"Ahem..." Zhao Hao also started to cough and waved his hands, "Grandpa, I'm still young. Let's talk about this in a few years."

"There will be no such shop after this village." Zhao Liben took a sip of wine and said, "Let's eat first, and then we'll talk after dinner."

"Oh." Zhao Hao nodded, hoping that the old man was just drunk and said it casually.

~~

Zhao Shouzheng felt relieved when he reunited with his father. In addition, after living for thirty or forty years, he finally got his father's recognition, so it was no surprise that he drank a few more glasses.

Then he was undoubtedly drunk.

Zhao Hao was just about to help his father to rest when he was stopped by Zhao Liben.

"Zhao Xian, help your uncle to rest."

Then the old man said to Zhao Hao, "My dear grandson, walk around the garden with me to help you digest your food."

"Yeah." As long as you don't mention marriage, Zhao Hao will still be a good grandson.

Zhao Xian helped Zhao Shouzheng to rest, while Zhao Hao supported Zhao Liben, and they walked and chatted in this quiet garden.

Zhao Liben pointed at the scenery in the garden and showed off to his grandson, "This garden was purchased from a fellow villager for 10,000 taels of silver when my grandfather was the governor of Zhejiang in the 36th year of the Jiajing reign. Over the years, he has invested tens of thousands of taels of silver and put a lot of thought into it to achieve its current size."

"For example, this garden is divided into four parts, spring, summer, autumn and winter, with the Tinghe Pavilion just now as the center. The east side is dominated by bamboo and rocks, symbolizing spring. The south side is dominated by Taihu stones, symbolizing the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River in midsummer. The west side uses yellow stones to set off the towering mountains in autumn, and the north side uses white snow stones to highlight the cold feeling of the accumulated snow in winter. Dear grandson, what do you think?" After Zhao Liben finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Hao expectantly.

Zhao Hao was currently constructing Xiaocang Mountain, so he was naturally very interested in the garden. Upon hearing this, he praised it sincerely, saying, "It has a novel style and is unique in its ingenuity. It will be a leader for the time being."

He thought to himself, I will divide Xiaocang Mountain into different themes later. The 500 acres of land has both mountains and water, which is much more worthwhile than this small garden of more than ten acres.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Liben was not satisfied. He pulled Zhao Hao to stand in front of a two-story attic and said to him with a smile.

"My dear grandson, even Wang Yanzhou was impressed by your poetic talent. When you see your own garden, don't you feel like writing a poem?"

"No." Zhao Hao shook his head decisively.

"That won't do!" Zhao Liben blew his beard and glared, "Even if it means making our garden famous, you have to write a poem for me."

"Grandpa, writing poetry is not like working in the fields. You need inspiration." Zhao Hao said with a wry smile.

"Don't try that on me." Zhao Liben knocked him on the head and said, "Today you have to do it whether you want to or not."

The old man said, sitting down on a Taihu stone, folding his arms and saying, "Otherwise, Grandpa won't go back."

"Well, okay..."

Zhao Hao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then I'll give Grandpa a poem."

As he spoke, he slowly chanted:

"The small garden is quiet and still, with sparse fences and winding paths resembling those of a mountain home. After a long day of reciting romantic poems, I suddenly heard the sound of a chessboard on a green screen.

Add bamboo and rocks, accompany the mist and clouds. I intend to rely on wine to comfort my youth. Don't complain about the flesh in your thighs, work hard to plant flowers in spring. "

"Haha, good, my dear grandson is really eloquent. This poem 'Yu Zhong Hao' is so well written, it expresses everything Grandpa is thinking about."

Zhao Liben nodded repeatedly in satisfaction, then let Zhao Hao go and slowly walked away with his support.

~~

When the grandparents and grandchildren walked away, the windows on the second floor of the waterside pavilion were opened.

In the room on the second floor, Ye appeared. Next to her stood a 13 or 14-year-old girl, as clear and ethereal as ice and snow.

The girl was still a beauty, but she showed an impressive indifference and calmness. She stood there quietly, watching Zhao Hao's receding figure.

"Xueying, what do you think?" At this moment, Ye no longer had the little woman's attitude in front of Zhao Liben, and returned to her original composure.

"Let's meet." The girl named Xueying nodded slightly, without revealing any emotion on her face.

ps. The seventh update, 1700 votes and more updates will be sent... Please give me monthly votes and recommendation votes!!